Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 3, Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD. View directions
Contact: Toby Howes, Senior Democratic Services Officer 020 8937 1307, Email: toby.howes@brent.gov.uk
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Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on the agenda. Minutes: None declared. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 March 2013 PDF 103 KB The minutes are attached. Minutes: that the minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2013 be approved as an accurate record, subject to the following amendment:-
line 25, page 2- replace ‘rears’ with ‘arrears’ |
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Matters arising Minutes: Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) – performance update
In response to a query from Councillor H B Patel concerning what action was being taken in respect of the potential total rental arrears of £1.5m, the Chair advised that a response from BHP would be sought. |
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Brent Fire Services - update Members will receive a presentation by the Brent Fire Borough Commander providing an update on the London Fire Brigade consultation and a general performance overview. Minutes: Terry Harrington (Borough Commander, Brent London Fire Brigade) gave a presentation on Brent Fire Services and advised that an initial efficiency savings forecast target of £65m was now more likely to be around £50m. Options for changes to the Fire Services in London were presently at consultation stage, with the ‘101-151’ option being the preferred option. Terry Harrington advised that the proposals included the closure of 12 fire stations and removal of 18 fire appliances across London, of which four fire appliances would be redeployed elsewhere. Members heard that the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) budget was not set on a borough by borough basis and that service configuration was optimised for prompt mobilisation and responses to fire incidences across London. Terry Harrington drew Members’ attention to the present Brent Fire Services resources as set out in the presentation and it was noted that there no plans in the current proposals to remove any fire appliances or close any stations in the borough. Wembley fire station had also been identified as a station of particular strategic importance.
Terry Harrington informed members that the LFB’s standards included first appliance to be at the scene of an emergency within six minutes, and a second appliance to be there within eight minutes. Brent’ performance recorded 67.7% for first appliance arriving within six minutes and 77.6% for the second appliance arriving in eight minutes. In terms of average time attendance times in Brent, the first appliance average was 5 minutes, 41 seconds and the second appliance was 6 minutes, 38 seconds. This compared with the LBF average of 5 minutes, 29 seconds and 7 minutes and 6 seconds respectively. Terry Harrington referred to the likely impact of the proposals in response times for first appliances arriving at a fire scene for each ward, with most of them forecast to have a response ranging from 1 to 24 seconds faster. He explained that although there were no proposed changes to fire services in Brent, changes in neighbouring boroughs were forecast to result in the time differences predicted for a number of Brent wards. Members noted that the forecast was drawn up through a computer programme model.
Terry Harrington also outlined a number of community fire safety initiatives, these being:-
· Setting up of Adult Safeguarding Board, with a High Risk Panel sitting beneath this · Rough sleeping – setting up of a Strategy Group focusing on rough sleeping and also on accommodation not originally built for residential purposes, with work also taking place with relevant partner agencies · Visual audits of buildings such as derelict buildings · Sprinkler initiative for residential properties and working with organisations such as Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) · Youth engagements – working with schools, junior citizens and continuation of the London Intervention Fire Education (LIFE) scheme
Members then discussed the presentation and an enquiry was made on whether there would be any changes to the number of staff and whether this would affect Brent Fire Services. Although the community fire safety initiatives were welcomed, it was ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Employment and Enterprise performance update PDF 107 KB Members will receive a presentation from the Director of Regeneration and Major Projects and the Head of Employment and Enterprise providing a performance update and overview of Employment and Enterprise scheme activities to date. The report is also attached. Minutes: Shomsia Ali (Head of Employment and Enterprise, Regeneration and Major Projects) presented the report and introduced herself to members, explaining that she had taken up the post in March 2013. The previous report to committee had provided details of the external review of employment provision in Brent. The outcome of the review included a number of recommendations which sought the implementation of innovative activities that complemented and designed to drive better provision of existing employment provision, including the creation of an Employment and Enterprise team. Shomsia Ali drew members’ attention to a number of objectives as set out in the report and then updated them on progress with regard to the Employment and Enterprise team. A Navigator Manager had been appointed to help deliver the Navigator Service and was supported with the recruitment of six Navigators. The Navigator Service had been in operation since January 2013 and their immediate priority was to focus on those who were most impacted by the welfare reforms. A Business Development and Partnership team had also been established to help attract external funding to the borough for the delivery of employment, skills and enterprise provision and would work closely with the council’s voluntary and community sector partners. This team also had another role in designing and commissioning services to drive better value from existing provision or to plug gaps in provision to meet priority needs. Shomsia Ali advised that recruitment for the Business Development Manager had been pushed back by a week. With regard to key work streams, one of these was to maximise opportunities for Brent residents to secure employment opportunities at the London Designer Outlet due to open in late October or early November 2013, where some 1,500 jobs would be created. A presentation was being given to retailers on 27 June 2013 and this represented a big opportunity. An update to members would also be presented at a future meeting in respect of obtaining employment opportunities for Brent residents with Europa, the organisation contracted to run Facilities Management for the council.
Shomsia Ali advised that she will chair the Employment Working Group of the Welfare Reform Group and terms of reference and an initial action plan had been agreed. One of the targets of the group included 35% of households impacted by welfare reform to be supported into employment and this would include working with Jobcentre Plus who were keen to work with the council on improving outcomes. The committee noted that presently a review of Brent Adult and Community Education Services (BACES) was taking place with a view to ensure it at the centre of the borough’s employment offer and to refocus its energy as an employment centred training organisation. A feasibility and scoping study was underway to explore the potential for setting up an Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) in either child care or the hospitality industry. A draft report was recommending that a pilot ILM model for ‘atypical child care’ be set up on a BHP estate, however it was ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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Work programme 2013/2014 PDF 75 KB The Chair will lead a discussion regarding items and topics that will form the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committees Work Programme for the 2013/14. Some suggested items to be included in the work programme are attached. Minutes: The Chair drew members’ attention to the work programme and welcomed any further suggestions. He advised that the One Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee had asked that this committee look into use of CCTV and it was noted that this was most likely to be considered at the meeting on 22 July 2013. |
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Date of next meeting The next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, 22 July 2013 at 7.00 pm. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to take place on Monday, 22 July 2013 at 7.00 pm. |
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Any other urgent business Notice of items raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Democratic Services Manager or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 64. Minutes: None. |